The Experiment: DHL vs Aramex
You know how recently we’ve been all experiencing hell when it comes to Online Shopping and finding that Aramex just takes way too long with our packages. So being the beautiful consumers that we are, what do we do in order to solve this dilemma we face? We change shipping companies and hope we don’t get screwed over. The customs issue is major but that can be explained in another post seriously since we need to do something about it, it’s like they’re ripping us off blind! Anyways so I decided to conduct an experiment since I’ve heard via Frankom about How good DHL’s Easy Shop is. I decided to put it to the ultimate test please read below to find out more about what happened.
Experiment: DHL vs Aramex
I. Objective: To decide which is the better shipping company out there by purchasing an object from the same vendor with the same shipping date and same price, and shipping it to a DHL Easy Shop address and an Aramex Shop & Ship address. Thus, showing which is the better shipping company in terms of speed, service, and price.
II. Hypothesis: DHL’s Easy Shop will be a thousand times better than Aramex’s Shop & Ship.
III. Equipment:
IV. Method:
- Order a 2 pieces of ChumbyOne (Price $99.99) from www.chumby.com and in the shipping details send to two separate addresses
- Due to the back-order of the ChumbyOne await your order to complete it’s shipping status which should take 2-3 weeks.
- Monitor the delivery of your ChumbyOne from the company to your mailbox
- Monitor the delivery of your ChumbyOne from your mailbox to your hands
- Write up an experiment
V. Data
I placed the order on the 14th of November and at the time the Chumby’s were backordered so I was not supposed to expect it to be shipped until the 3rd of December, however due to the back log it was in fact shipped on the 4th and arrived on the 8th to both mailboxes however I noticed the following.
December 8th: Aramex updates its mailbox contents as soon as the packages actually arrives whereas DHL does not provide the update until a few hours later.
December 9th: DHL updates the website very early in the morning and puts up an invoice for 9.17KD for shipping and 0.71KD for duty (the prices are based on the volumetric weight of the object and not the actual weight). Whereas, Aramex mentions the correct dimentions and puts up a 5KD shipping charge. Later that afternoon DHL ships out the package whereas Aramex still hasn’t updated it.
December 10th: DHL’s tracking page is detailed and displays to me the package’s progress whereas Aramex just updates their tracking page to say that a Shipping Record has been created and is shipped out.
Fastforward a few days later….
December 13th: Late evening DHL updates website that the package has arrived and cleared customs and was being sent to await customer pickup. However, Aramex has no updates whatsoever on its website.
December 14th: I visit DHL’s offices and pick up my package and pay for 6KD shipping only and no customs charges (my first package ever to not experience custom charges) and Aramex has no updates on their site.
December 19th: I get a surprise visit from Aramex and an update on their website that the shipment is out for delivery and end up paying 5.5KD for the package again with no customs but no previous warning of the package arriving in Kuwait or anything.
[Please check out the images of the Tracking Systems of both companies shown in this post]
VI. Conclusion:
I found that Aramex updates their website immediately once a package actually arrives whereas with DHL it takes sometime however, what I have also noticed is that Aramex’s tracking system is WAY BEHIND in comparison with DHL if there is anything that will make anyone switch over then it should be the tracking system alone. That is a major point for DHL. The service and speed in which DHL took to deliver my package was amazing it took exactly 4 days for it to arrive to Kuwait and on the 5th day for me to go pick it up. There are some packages that go a bit beyond the 5th day but that depends on Public Holidays or Weekends and the customs. With Aramex the package took 9 days for it to be delivered to me and that in itself is unexplainable and unbelievable! In regards to the pricing of both companies DHL was more expensive by that 0.500KD but it was justifiable if it meant that you get your stuff here faster than before. Sadly enough the harder you try to find something good about Aramex to say the harder it is since there wasn’t anything helping them out there. In short, you are still contemplating making the move to DHL I say do it with your eyes closed seriously just go ahead and do it!
VII. General Notes:
This author was not paid anything in order to say good things about DHL or bad things about Aramex this was just a post out there to help others with their Online Shopping and hopefully you have learned something if you need any help or have any questions please feel free to ask.
VIII. Links
December 21st, 2009 at 2:06 am
My MacBook Pro:
Arrived to my DHL mailbox on 15Dec 19:11
Arrived to Kuwait on 18Dec 5:46AM
Less than 72Hours !
Great Post :)
December 21st, 2009 at 6:57 am
nice one :) but brought horrible memories of school days!
December 21st, 2009 at 11:32 am
I’m enjoying MyUS.com, its really good so you can choose which shipping you want, and heavier objects ships thru them better!
December 21st, 2009 at 11:54 am
Go To Hell, Aramex Shopping Online is the best Service ever.
December 22nd, 2009 at 10:18 am
Howdy J…again..great initiative on this one…Mohammad, why the hostility amigo? not cool!
Anyways: yes, aramex got whooped on the customs and clearance time, but this comes with the territory: DHL clears less than 100 shipments a day; whereby, we’re in the 1000’s – they must really love us at customs ;) Something that should speed up the pre-clearance process is to forward your invoice and tracking to our team, right when you receive it from your e-tailer. This helps in all the prep paper work while that big bird is crossing the Atlantic. We also lucked out on the the delivery, since Dec. 18th was a Friday. Tracking: things should get rosier on that front since we’re upgrading our system.
Open Invitation: I’m planning a trip again to kuwait end January and would love your help in getting a few happy or not so happy SS customers for a one on one session. For the record, SS was founded by aramex, because it listened to its customers needs and we want it to always stay this way. Ideally, I’m looking for 7-10 group to listen and bounce off some ideas to keep improving the serivce. You could call it a retreat (I call it a gathering) and I’ll pick a creative venue somewhere (will create that atmosphere if need be!). I’m ready to host this in my house in Salwa (Fyi: mom makes great apple pie!). I’m accessible 24/7 on hassan.mikail@shopandship.com, twitter @hmikail and cell phone +971 50 778 4238
Chumby: haven’t gotten around to it yet, but leaning for the Classic vs. the new one. Bring it with you, will take it for a test drive!
December 22nd, 2009 at 1:17 pm
am happy with aramex !
December 23rd, 2009 at 2:52 am
I had a bitter experience with Aramex when I was working in Kuwait which made to resolve never use them again. In 2006 I had asked my Dad to courier my original school & college certificates to Kuwait for certification by the Indian embassy. My Dad sent them by Aramex as the office was located nearby.
After waiting for a week I got frantic when their tracking page still showed the package on transit and their Sharq office could not locate it even after 3-4 days of my repeated calling. Out of the blue I got a call from the Kuwait Post Office that there is a package for me & could I please come and collect it. I rushed to the GPO and found my Aramex package from which the Egyptian sorters had taken my mobile number and called me. I profusely thanked them in my broken Arabic while physically going to the Aramex office and giving the Manager a piece of my mind after showing them the package. He offered me a free shipment which I did & that was the last time I used them.
I can only assume that my package got exchanged at the customs with the post but I still shudder to think if I had lost my original certificates which included my Grade 10, Grade 12, College & Post Graduate originals. What I wonder is how could they continue with such a shoddy tracking system and to think Aramex was the Middle East’s answer to UPS. My foot!
December 23rd, 2009 at 5:06 am
well, i’ve tried DHL and Aramex… they were both fine, but im currently using Aramex. i became their loyal customer and i got used to it! I dont mind DHL, but I never had a problem with Aramex in terms of delivering the products i ordered in a timely manner. i usually use DHL or Fedex if im mailing papers, but heavy products i’d go with Aramex
December 23rd, 2009 at 6:18 am
Its all about customs
DHL is way faster than Aramex you have to do another test ;p~
December 23rd, 2009 at 8:55 am
Aramex was fine with me till the imposition of new rules. Y’day I had received package after 18 days of delay. The package might had been with customs for more than 2 weeks.
December 23rd, 2009 at 9:02 am
@hmikail
or Angry SS customers ?
December 23rd, 2009 at 9:03 am
@hmikail: true that you started this S&S service and it was good because it was new…but guess what man? you got heavy weight competition now…..so you guys better make your website better at tracking And more importantly DELIVER fast.
As The ppl at the customs are freaking horrible!!! they are totally ripping us off and delaying the whole freakin thing.
December 23rd, 2009 at 9:07 am
Does DHL have the 1 KD delivery charge like Aramex??
December 23rd, 2009 at 9:37 am
a very scientific study…thorough.
Thank you!
December 23rd, 2009 at 9:38 am
Very scientific and precise, I love it. Thanks Jacqui.
December 23rd, 2009 at 10:24 am
I think Aramex is still a baby when compared to DHL and FedEx.
Why didn’t you order something that was not on back log?!
December 23rd, 2009 at 10:51 am
Loved this post! Would you have experienced different results if you had ordered books? Currently I have 5 books being held up by MOI. Zero tracking on the Shop&Ship page, no idea if I will ever get them. They’re normal fiction books I had previously seen in Kuwait but they’re sold out from our bookstores. Care to give it a shot? I’ll give you funding. All I care about is getting my books.
December 23rd, 2009 at 10:59 am
^^ Hassan, I spoke to a manager yesterday regarding my issues with Aramex. It was the first time I’ve ever talked to the manager, despite Shop&Ship doing some crazy things. Other than tracking and slow delivery, you need to get good staff members on the team. You really need to make sure you don’t lose Edwina. She’s the #1 member of the Shop&Ship team. A few of my friends & I would have deflected to other companies long ago if it weren’t for her.
December 23rd, 2009 at 11:20 am
mohammed,,,ith’hab anta ilal ja7eem!!!
December 23rd, 2009 at 12:14 pm
Well done, Very informative & helpful. Thank you so much.
December 23rd, 2009 at 3:37 pm
DHL does not offer the service in Jordan, but Aramex does a perfect job here.
December 23rd, 2009 at 4:17 pm
Very scientific and great test , thanks alot..
i decided to go with DHL ofcourse
but really i wanna know more about the save way for Online Shopping ( if there`s any megastores that u recommend )..
hope to get your advice for the most powerful sites ..
thanks n advance
December 23rd, 2009 at 4:43 pm
I use BongoUS (http://www.bongous.com) which ships and forwards through DHL. I have never had any huge problems with either company. They ship pretty quickly and I can track everything.
I will admit that I’m not that familiar with Aramex, but I trust DHL for almost 2 years now.
December 24th, 2009 at 12:02 pm
Loved you post. You have a flair for writing.
December 24th, 2009 at 12:19 pm
I agree with you. I just had to wait 18 days for a package with Aramex after it had arrived in Kuwait. There reasoning was because it took 13 days to clear customs but that still means it took them a further 5 days just to get it from customs and delivered to me. That is totally unacceptable but they did not seem to care when I questioned them about it.
December 24th, 2009 at 10:46 pm
Can You Make a Comparison of taxable stuff for things above $100 this is a normal comparison computers are tax exempt, i am so sure hidden stuff will show up from DHL side, just like your iMac :/
December 25th, 2009 at 2:49 pm
i on the other hand had a bad experience with dhl, a $100 package got “repriced” to be equivilant to 60KD just to get it taxed and dhl stood there doing nothing! even though it is explicit that only packages over $100 get taxed .. their justification? it was repriced to match the items sold in kuwait .. the stuff i ordered does not exist or be could ever be found in kuwait!! so again beware of their rosy tracking systems and fast delivery, you will get taxed!
December 26th, 2009 at 12:44 am
My shipment took another 72 hrs after it was cleared from custom and in their facility. that too on constantly calling them for 3 days.
2nd Day excuse: they have 6000 packages everyday(why tellin me)
3rd Day ecuse: they have 8000 packages everday(so does that mean i i ‘d not use their service so it can be faster for other people)
December 26th, 2009 at 6:41 pm
I’m bored….
December 27th, 2009 at 10:51 pm
Okay this is a tough bunch trying to get through all these comments but I’ll try my best :D
KR : Thanks alot and yeah it’s true sometimes it takes less than the time that I put up there and sometimes more it all depends on the weekends and holidays.
s. : LOL! I know it brought back the days that I copied the labs off of a nerd and tried to get an A or B at least LOL!
Marzouq : That’s cool I need to try that one out LOL! Hehehehe I can’t quite online shopping so I have to find the right way to get my things here!
Mohammad : That’s your opinion the facts that I showed up there proves you wrong though :D
@hmikail : Thanks Hassan for the lovely comment and I am glad that you found this post informative I am just displaying the facts the way they are and well to the customer it doesn’t matter how many shipments a day you guys get it’s how fast we get our things you know what they say “The world revolves around the customer and no one else hehe :)” You know they don’t say that but oh well thought I’d give it a shot! I really hope you do upgrade your Tracking system since it seriously sucks really does! And I wouldn’t mind partcipating in the gathering and as for the chumby well it’s cute and awesome not sure about the Chumby Classic but I am liking the Chumby One just fine :D
Maze : Glad to hear that :D
indiancurry : Wow that is a bad experience I do hope that you have found a better alternative for Aramex right now until they start fixing up their systems and all.
borzaiga : It all depends on your needs and if you don’t do much online shopping or need your items faster then I guess Aramex will do just fine :)
Frankom : I am doing another test but this one is failing due to the holidays hehe :D
rare1 : Yeah I agree I first switched to UShopWeShip and then they implemented the Customs rules first and started charging insanely so I went back to Aramex but now I’m using DHL and I’m fine with it :D
B_G_T_R :One of the most important things you’ve mentioned is how we need to do something about the Customs since they are ripping us off and I don’t like being ripped off seriously!
Musty : No they don’t if the shipment wasn’t taxed or didn’t enter customs you don’t have to pay 1KD
mentabolism : Thanks dear and yeah it was quite scientific hehe :)
fadibou : Your welcome dear and yeah I liked doing it as well :D
WH : Well I just ordered some books and will re-attempt the experiment but Christmas blocked the competition LOL!
Tooomz : Thanks hon and I’m setting up the experiment to try out the books but Christmas ruined all the results so I’m not sure how to post that up hehe :s
hi : LOL sweet :)
The Aggressor : Thanks sweetie hehe and I am glad it was informative..
Moey : Well you just experienced your first hiccup with them so I guess they are not so great afterall? :P
mo_alnady : Your welcome and it sure is a nice service to try out.. As for the sites I mainly use Amazon.com and Apple.com for my shopping needs otherwise I don’t have any other preferences :s
larissa patel : I still haven’t tried out BongoUS but I should try it out soon and see how it compares with the other companies I’ve tried but it’s awesome that you like them :)
shibi : Aww thanks so much :) I’m glad you enjoyed it!
Danielle : Yeah it’s always being blamed on one department or another Customs or planes or whatever hehe :)
boss : Hmm I’m not sure I get what you mean but I am trying out a comparison of ordering books :)
lomo : I had a GPS unit that was 120$ get priced at 250$ but in the end it didn’t do much since all I paid were Clearance Charges and no customs.. And well that truly is something bad I am beginning to think that it just has to do with your luck or something hehe :s
Prabu : I am guessing you’re talking about Aramex here? or DHL I couldn’t make that out but whoever it is, that’s a bad situation to be in I’m so sorry for you…
KA fan : Why bored?
December 28th, 2009 at 6:15 pm
I think it’s really great that you take the time to write back all comments/commenters. Thanks for valuing all the expressed opinions.
January 5th, 2010 at 9:38 pm
I just want to say that I hate DHL USA for all they have done. DHL created an economic disaster in Wilmington, Ohio. Thousands of people out of work. I worked as a courier for DHL in New York. DHL runs a real shoddy operation in the US. You wrote a nice article here but do not count on the same results next time. Good luck to ya! Nice blog!
February 24th, 2010 at 8:41 pm
Hello. Last week I sent a pack of docs using aramex services. The shipment details states that “Shipment Forwarded to Beyond Delivery Area”. Can anybody please say what does this mean? This status of shipment stays for already 2 days
March 31st, 2010 at 11:32 am
Thanx to share your experience with us.
I did some searches and found that DHL is faster; whereas, Aramex is cheaper.
Actualy, I’m fameliar with Aramex and don’t know about DHL, but I ordered an item in U.S from Amazon using Aramex and I picked it up on the 6th day. Moreover, I choosed the standard shipping which is the longest one.
I don’t see Aramex is that bad :(